FT Films: Behind the Scenes
by sr-canvas
Summary: Apparently, our troublesome cast thinks shooting a movie is boring. So they shoot each other instead. Oh dear Mavis. With the Grand Fiore Film Fest inching closer, the movie script is nothing compared to the real drama behind the scenes; throw in on set the famed demon director, the multi-awarded actor, the hotshot rock icon, the best-selling novelist, and more! [Full Summ Inside]
1. Prologue: TRAILER

**Story Description: **Throw in on set the famed demon director, the multi-awarded actor, the hotshot rock idol, and the best-selling novelist—and more? Welcome to F.T. Films. Apparently, they think shooting a movie is boring. So they shoot each other instead. Oh dear Mavis…

**Full Summary: **

Once known as the best production company in all of Fiore—now seven years bankrupt after a single big screen disaster; not to mention, a rather incompetent staff. And so one last chance remains: The Grand Fiore Film Fest. But the stakes are higher than ever, and victory is rather vague; so they bank on their luck, leave everything up to chance, and—_pray Mavis help them_—seek the aid of the industry's living legends: the famed demon director, the multi-awarded actor, the hotshot rock idol, and the best-selling novelist.

Then throw in on set a rather handsome assistant, a drunkard manager, a suave co-star, a workaholic editor, a metal-music guitarist, a love-giddy bartender, a supermodel trio, a privacy-invasive photojournalist, a top-notch investigator, a returning ex-fiancée—and more?

Well, showbiz life in Fiore isn't all as dazzling as the media shows it's all cracked up to be, and the whole of the continent better watch out. Because with double the trouble and thrice the explosiveness—F.T. Films is back on track.

If they can start shooting the movie and not each other, that is.

_Oh dear Mavis._

**Disclaimer: **I do not own FT. Author's note will always be at the end of every chapter. Hope you like this story. Also, please remember that this is set in an alternate universe, thank you.

**Additional notes: **You can think of Fiore here as an F.T. universe equivalent of Hollywood in ours.

* * *

**Prologue**

**F.T. Films: Behind the Scenes - TRAILER**

* * *

Rol VTR, in…

_5…_

_4…_

_3…_

_2…_

_click._

* * *

**Welcome to the Grand Fiore Film Festival.**

* * *

cameras flash. reporters swarm. scandals. issues.

* * *

**[THE PHANTOM PRESS]**

**Saber Studios: UNSTOPPABLE; Grabs Gold—Again! "Twin Dragons" Sets New Box-Office Record**

_The canines are on a roll! Second-time champion of the prestigious Grand Fiore Film Fest, Saber Studios—_

* * *

_Flip._

* * *

red carpets roll. fans scream. records. awards.

* * *

**[THE SORCERER]**

**Jura Neekis to co-star in Lamia Label's next film!**

_Lamia Label's next film proves to be star-studded—_

* * *

_Flip._

* * *

actors. smile. concerts. press conferences.

* * *

**[DAILY BULLETIN]**

**Sting Eucliffe, Rogue Cheney: X789 Rising Young Actors of the Year**

_"__It truly is an honor for both of us," the nineteen-year-old Eucliffe says, and—_

* * *

_Flip._

* * *

"Saber again huh. As usual."

Down she dropped stack of mixed old and recent newspapers—dusty, she might add—unto the hard varnished oak of her work table in the quaint apartment. Her breathing strained from the suffocating cloud upon impact, yet she continued, clearing up roughly seven years worth of daily tabloids (rubbish, all of them, she thought).

She coughed.

And although time proved to be her enemy, she couldn't help but skim over the headlines, some, however, she was rather painfully familiar of—

* * *

_Flip._

A pause.

* * *

**[THE SORCERER]**

**F.T. Films: Seven Years After The Tenrou Movie Disaster**

_Saber Studios, Raven Reels, Lamia Labels, Pegasus Pictures and M. Heels House—these are but some of the frontrunners of the film industry; the names behind all the hit movies to ever make it in the big screens of Fiore—_

* * *

_Flip._

* * *

**[DAILY BULLETIN]**

**Question: What has become of the crowned "King of Films"?**

_Yes, you know them—they are none other than the mighty F.T. Films. However, here we are fast forward seven years—and things don't seem to be looking up for the majesty—_

* * *

_Flip._

A sigh.

* * *

"Really. They keep adding insult to injury," she muttered lowly with the final stack—loudly so. "As if things aren't already bad enough around here."

And from the background, the faint glow of the television amidst the dim of the thick curtain-clad room wasn't helping any either. But she paid no heed and instead continued gathering her things for work.

"Al! I'm going ahead! See you at the office!"

The door slams shut.

The television flickers.

* * *

**[SHOWBIZ BUZZ]**

_"__Good morning Magnolia; good morning Fiore! This is Yours Truly, Macy Allaina—and you are watching, SHOWBIZ BUZZ! Now that we're celebrating our annual anniversary, we bring you a very special episode. As you can see, we are now at currently at F.T. Films HQ to try and get an official statement—"_

_"__Oi oi! Who the fuckin' hell said you can film here without permission?!"_

_"__But sir—!"_

_"__Get lost you—STOP FILMING RIGHT NOW BASTARDS, OR ELSE I'LL—"_

* * *

noise erupts. camera shakes. thunking sounds.

.

_static._

_._

_._

_._

trends. style. competition. success.

defeat.

* * *

Welcome to the entertainment industry.

* * *

**[STELLAR SCROLLS]**

**Is a comeback completely out of question now?**

_By: Cassidy Casares_

_Once known as the best production company in all of Fiore—now seven years bankrupt after a single big screen disaster; not to mention, a rather incompetent staff (if I do say so myself). Bankruptcy seemed to have taken its toll on company, after all, now down and low after the infamous "Tenrou Island" movie disaster, which according to movie critics—from the casting to the cinematography and to even the soundtracks—just didn't make the cut, apparently deemed from "Most Anticipated of the Year" to "Major Disappointment of the Century"._

_And so the big question remains: now with the annual Grand Fiore Film Festival fast approaching, will they be able to make it to the big screen again? Is a comeback now out of question, or will they be able to regain their lost glory?_

_Maybe. _

_But the stakes are higher than ever, and victory is rather vague. Perhaps they'd bank on their luck. Perhaps they'd leave everything up to chance, and—pray Mavis help them—perhaps they'd finally patch up the gaping hole of their seven-year-long lasting defeat._

_Maybe._

_Maybe not._

* * *

_Flip._

* * *

There can be no secrets here.

Plot twists of movie scripts are nothing compared to the real drama behind the scenes.

**WELCOME TO FIORE.**

* * *

**Prologue End.**

* * *

**::::**

**Author's Note: **So, what do you think? Should I push through with it? Want a certain pairing? Just tell me. And can you also guess what roles out F.T. characters will be filling out? And guess the pairings I have made fixed for this story as well! I hope you support this story.

Thank you.


	2. Take 001: CHAPTER 1

**Disclaimer: **I do not own FT. Author's note and replies will always be at the end of every chapter; full summary is in the Prologue chapter. And as for the pairings—alright, I'll be giving one away: **NaLu**. The rest, I won't confirm. Personally, I think one of the thrills of reading stories is guessing and figuring who's gonna end up with who.

But I have to mention, beforehand, I pretty much support the most common ships. (Huge hint right there.) Please pardon (and inform me about) any spelling, grammatical, typographical, and other kinds of errors you may find. I typed this out in a rush.

**::::**

* * *

**Chapter One: The Living Legends**

* * *

**::::**

**[THE SORCERER]**

**BREAKING NEWS: F.T. FILMS, DRIVEN TO THE EDGE—COMPANY PRESIDENT CAUSES RIOT!**

_By: Jason Philips_

_BREAKING NEWS! It seems as if the once crowned 'King of Kings' finally snapped. They had it. And during a live feature of a certain television program about the film production company, a very aggravated Macao Conbolt came rushing out, chasing the reporters away with brute force—which caused an instant riot right in front of their building the previous day. It wasn't only until his employees' intervention that he had been held back. Is this outburst finally a sign for their acceptance of defeat? Or is it the entire opposite? _

_Had seven years been too harsh for them? "I was really frightened," Macy Allaina says…_

* * *

_Flip._

* * *

A sigh.

"News sure does travel fast. Really. Nice job Macao."

"Shut it. Tch. Those reporter bastards—they even have a fucking filming crew! The whole lot! We're not some fucking street show they can swarm and gossip about and—"

The clock struck eight in the morning at F.T. Films HQ.

Laki Olietta leaned over her desk, took off her glasses, slim fingers circled her temples trying to soothe the migraine that was threatening to pounce over her consciousness, yet to no avail—why, with her boss's rumblings and curses and muttering of incoherent phrases as he paced back and forth the office, and oh—the ramble he had caused just yesterday, right in front of their building—and had been quickly spread by the media. Needless to say, the young film producer was tired—at most, frustrated.

"There goes boss again." One year her junior and location manager Max Alors, muttered. He scanned the pages of the day's paper almost lifelessly, as though he'd rather be anywhere but trapped inside those faded beige walls. And he wasn't alone. Almost everyone else did.

"—we're the butt of their jokes and insults—"

She looked around the office. With an obvious lack of the typical workplace bustle (save for Macao Conbolt's endless ramblings)—no phones ringing in the distance, no ruffling of papers on desks, no _clik-claks_ of keyboards and hums of machineries, no printers dolling out papers, no clicking of heels on marble floor—the intense boredom weighed heavily down upon the ten or eleven in the small room—an office, they called it, but she begged to disagree. The walls were mostly bare—save for the dull beige color and a movie poster from seven years ago which she had already read for so many times. _Tenrou Island, Coming Soon—_said the faded prints across worn yellow, almost painfully, and mockingly so.

So they say. Nothing good ever lasts—and their glory years were certainly long gone.

"—how do those bastards even get scoops—"

However, on a lighter note of things, although the place was beat up, very rarely furnished and certainly not of lavish commodities as it had once been, still, she found working there quite comfortable if she may say so—never mind the mild stench of old wool carpet on rainy days perhaps. But it rarely rained anyway. And she quite liked her spot, right below the air vent. She figured she could always use a puff of cool air every time her legs would ache from a lack of stretching, and her neck would pain from the constant need of bending down in using the photocopier machine—

"—every-fucking-day! Can't they give us a bre—"

"Calm down, Macao, dammit!"

Okay. Who was she kidding? _Their current predicament wasn't likable even in the least bit—_and she sighed for the umpteenth time trying to drown out the childish (pointless) brawls of the two seniors which never did the company any good. This was but a perfect rationalization as to why she had mostly preferred solitude; the idiotic extremities of her colleagues were rather excruciating—

_("LOOK AT THIS! THE GREAT VIJEETER ECOR HAS FINISHED HIS NEW DANCE! I CALL IT THE 'PUNY DANCE'!"_)

Ignored.

(_"YOU CALLING ME FAT, HUUUH?! I CALL THESE MUSCLES! I'M INCREASING WORK EFFICIENCY BY EATING!")_

Oh sure.

"I told you call me 'BOSS', Wakaba!" Macao gritted right at the company vice president.

"Yeah, sure. Never seen a _Company President_ with a complete lack of dignity like you! And that little stunt of yours earlier? Real mature!" Wakaba spat back.

"Why you disrespectful bastard—!"

"Hell, bring it!"

"I FUCKING SURE WILL!"

That did it.

Laki banged her hands heavily on the table—

**"STOP IT RIGHT NOW!"**

The noise abruptly died.

Everyone stared at her.

She kept a firm expression, then adding a heavily emphasized— "_Please," _she straightened up. "This is not the time to be fighting amongst ourselves. Maybe we can still do something about this. Maybe we can still get through this? We can, right?"

But her strained smile wasn't fooling anyone.

And she sure wasn't fooling herself either.

"Hm. Get through this huh…" Max whispered. "Don't you think…"

.

.

.

_"…It's a little seven years too late for that_?"

Never had a single question sounded so bitter.

Never had a single question been so very true.

_Tenrou Island, Coming Soon—_said the faded prints across worn yellow of the movie poster, almost painfully, and mockingly so.

* * *

**::::**

* * *

**[THE FIORE FILES]**

**EXCLUSIVE! Relationship Gone Awry**

_It's official—they are over! According to—_

* * *

_Flip._

* * *

**[STAR ARCHIVES]**

**BLIND ITEM: Apparently, his love life is NOT ROCKIN' so well…**

_Place your guesses everyone; who is this mystery celeb rumored to—_

* * *

_Flip._

* * *

A pause.

**[THE PHANTOM PRESS]**

**SALAMANDER BREAKS OFF ENGAGEMENT WITH NON-SHOWBIZ GF!**

_By: Juvia Lockser_

_Heads up! The prince of rock is once again single—single! Right after the release of his latest single 'Dragon Slayer', the female population goes wild at the news—and young hopeful girls scream for his attention once again. According to reliable sources, Fiore's scorchin' hot twenty-two year-old idol Natsu Dragneel broke off his engagement with his girl of, allegedly, five years—her identity still a mystery, apparently a non-showbiz persona, and is believed to be a more prominent name in the field of medicine. But of course, we don't care about that. We care about gossip. The juicy break-up. The broken engagement. The tensional split!_

_So what could have brought about the end of their relationship? Differences? Schedule conflicts? A date gone wrong? Well, here's the scoop—it's said to be a third party! Things are sure on fire! It's a pandemonium! Either way, it seems another mystery girl might be sending all Salamander fans baffled! And whatever the reason for…_

_Flip._

* * *

A sigh.

"News sure travels fast, huh? Never thought the press is gonna catch up about it so soon; there's already an article about us," she spoke, refusing to read the rest of the sham articles. She discarded them to the back seat along with her luggage and bags, apparently too engrossed in the novel she was reading—for the eleventh time; yes, she found the story _that_ appealing.

"Well, this _is_ Fiore," he lightly laughed.

"Point taken. And it's Phantom Press as well, might I add."

The pair cruised eighty miles down a highway to Hargeon Port (thank Mavis for Troia pills for his motion sickness)—his latest rock single, _Dragon Slayer, _blasting from the speakers and with the windows rolled down, sang loudly to the nearly deserted highway. He liked his guitar solo before the bridge on that song the best, he remembered how his fingers almost bled to death with two whole weeks practice just getting mere ten measures right. But he hit platinum then, and he figured it was definitely worth the sweat (and few drops blood) during rehearsals.

"Phantom Press eh? Well, that's Lockser for you. _The Celebrity Stalker_. Scary woman. I don't really like her, but—" a pause, as his lips pulled up into a devilish grin, "—she's giving the bastard Fullbuster a hard time with her top-notch art of stalking and proclamation of love, so heh, she may not be all that bad."

She sent him a pointed glare, "Hey, Gray is your friend. At least try to be sympathetic or something."

"Porn star is NOT my friend."

"He's not a porn star Natsu. I swear, if the two of you are still going at it with your stupid rivalry thing when I get back from Edolas—"

Lisanna fell into abrupt silence.

_When I get back from Edolas…_

He laughed—quite strained. "Yeah. When you get back from Edolas, you'd already be a great doctor by then, huh…"

His words trailed off.

She breathed, rather deeply so; head leaning against the cool glass—and he knew it then she wanted to talk. In the years of their somewhat bizarre, surreal, but platonic relationship of a mutual understanding, they had always started things off by petty conversations—trivial topics—in a feeble attempt to lighten up the mood which he had never recalled to have ever worked.

So short silence reigned between them, both unknowing of what to say. Oh hell, trust him to say the exact wrong words at the worst time possible—his sensibility was just about as excellent as his mathematics. And mind you, he hated numbers the most—well, second to the porn stripper perhaps. His fingers flexed upon the wheel slightly, knuckles white—and she tightly gripped the hardbound of the book she was holding, now closed, forgotten, settled upon her lap. He had always hated 'the talk'—and she felt uncomfortable bringing it up.

But they would have to, eventually.

At least, before she finally boards the plane.

.

.

.

"Natsu, I…" Lisanna finally broke the silence.

* * *

**::::**

* * *

**[DAILY BULLETIN]**

**CONSELLATIONS, IN ITS' 3RD BESTSELLER MONTH!**

_Truly a literature masterpiece, Constellations by L. Ashley…_

* * *

_Flip._

* * *

**[BOOKWORM BLOGS]**

**Miss L. Ashley: we know her—and we don't**

_Just who is the person behind the pseudonym…_

* * *

_Flip._

* * *

A pause.

**[STAR ARCHIVES]**

**MCGARDEN DENIES BEING 'L. ASHLEY'!**

_By: Keith Abel_

_"But I sure wish I was though!" the twenty-one-year old quickly follows up. Apparently, even the young editor of S. Gear Publication is a fan of the very mysterious, but astounding writer behind the continent-wide famous name 'L. Ashley'. The genius mind behind majority of the bestselling novels these previous years, she continuously makes her legacy known. Her words are practically every reader's poetry, and her storytelling is perhaps one of the most brilliantly vivid Fiore has ever seen—or read, for that matter. But the ever-controversial identity of the writer is yet to be revealed. Who exactly is Miss L. Ashley? Our question perfectly echoes the thoughts of Miss Levy McGarden herself. _

_"Believe me, I want to know just as much as everyone else does," she laughs during the interview. And when asked what her favorite work of the author is, "Definitely 'Princess Prisoner'. I love how she contrasted the princess' situation—having literally everything, living inside the castle walls, but at the same time, figuratively having nothing at all! And oh—the words! I mean, Miss L. Ashley—oh, I just admire her!"_

_Well, don't we all do? But on another note, Miss McGarden has published greatly complemented novels herself, such as…_

* * *

_Flip._

* * *

A chuckle.

"Looks like they're going all out with the detective work huh? I might not be able to stay hidden for long," she whispered to herself as she gently dropped the newspaper on the table, right beside her steaming cup of coffee and a slice of rocky road cake. It was a morning eight o' clock habit—to sit by the bookstore café right across her apartment and read through the daily paper. It was a place where she figured she could relax, amidst the swirling chaotic world of Fiore entertainment madness and celebrity controversies.

And recent news? Oh, she knew very well. _Too well_. Or rather, in a more appropriate wording: she, herself, was news. She was, after all, _Lucy Heartfilia_—the runaway heir of one of the most influential clans in the business world. And she was _L. Ashley_, all the same—the pseudonymous bestselling novelist in all of Fiore.

No one knew.

Which was, to her relief.

Her amber orbs eyed the picture splat below the Star Archive's headline, of the recently-interviewed, petite blue-haired girl smiling for the camera—and she felt a tingle of pity for the publication editor then and there (and guilt). She has been, after all, feasted by the press upon surface of the slightest, rather misinterpreted, evidence, which allegedly pointed to her as the person behind the name. Of course, there was barely even a grain of truth to the claim—even the girl herself was completely clueless and curious at the long hidden identity.

It probably hadn't been that much hard of an issue to clear though; just a few interviews and a couple statements here and there—

"Hi! Can I sit with you? Sorry, the rest of the tables are already occupied."

She looked up. She stared.

_Oh Mavis._

And she smiled. "Go ahead."

"Thank you very much! It's just, I promised to meet up with a very important client here, and I never thought it'd be this packed…"

.

.

.

"…I'm Levy McGarden by the way. And, you are?"

_OH HECK MAVIS._

"Um…"

* * *

**::::**

* * *

**[THE PHANTOM PRESS]**

**BEST ACTOR AWARD: FULLBUSTER, AGAIN!**

_Last night's Magnolia Awards ends with a rather…_

* * *

_Flip._

* * *

**[THE SORCERER]**

**Just what is the secret behind the multi-awarded young actor's success?**

_Gray Fullbuster is clearly at the peak of his showbiz career—and he's been for many…_

* * *

_Flip._

* * *

**[THE FIORE FILES]**

**GRAY FULLBUSTER REMAINS FIORE'S UNBEATEN MEDIA PRIMETIME KING**

_By: Pio Valdor_

_Once again, Gray Fullbuster proves he's the one and only Fiore's top leading man—and the best the continent's ever gonna get. Many look up to him. Many aspire to be like him. Many dream to be him. And with naturally God-given acting skills and the killer looks to boot, his name, unsurprisingly, completely dominated the Magnolia Red Carpet Awards, having won majority of the titles—one such the "Best Actor Award" for his hit television drama series "Deliora". The Primetime King proudly smiles as he receives his award, and announces his gratefulness to his supporters amongst the rapturous applause. _

_On another note, "Deliora" also shone the spotlight on one of the fresh faces in the industry, Lyon Vastia—a contract star of Lamia Labels and is set to star in this year's…_

* * *

_Flip._

* * *

The alarm went off as soon as it struck eight in the morning, and he could've sworn the obnoxiously loud rings could be heard a mile away—apparently, the volume even enough to bring him out of his sweet slumber, which was already saying something. His head hurt badly, and considering the amount of alcohol he had the night before—rather vague to his still hazed mind; he had actually thought he'd sleep in until noon. But alas—his professionalism still dominated—in two hours, an interview; another two and he'd be in a photo shoot—and as much as he wanted to laze around the whole day through and fully savor the cushiony linen of his bed, he knew he had to be up and about in five minutes.

He groggily turned over, yet still not awake enough to bother with the alarm, (he had always hated mornings with a passion) and instead turned the blurry focus of his eyes to the ceiling—then to his whole cabinet of awards and medals, all delicate glass and gold, and the majestic shimmer of the trophy from the awards night yesterday—the newest addition to his collection. But although a definite source of pride in his profession, his schedules were always far too hectic; and there was a limit to just about how much a twenty-two year old like him could take, multi-awarded actor or not.

Footsteps going up the stairs sounded, then followed by the violent bang of his bedroom door opening.

But he wasn't shaken even the least bit.

"Oi! Turn off that goddamn alarm and—" a pause, as she shivered, "HELL GRAY, what is this? The arctic?! It's freezing in here! If you're trying to make a human icicle out of yourself, then you're doing a really good job at it."

Gray Fullbuster slowly groaned as his half-awake consciousness watched the woman march up to his air conditioning system—with quite the struggle amidst the maze of _various things_, as he wasn't one to clean his room very often (he figured he'd have to congratulate her for having made it). "I swear, you're gonna make it to Guinness with your tolerance for the cold," she muttered, cranking the knob many turns down.

Then a pause. "And, your clothes, mister?"

He was in his underwear.

Again.

_Shit. _

"I could say the same about you with your alcohol." he swiftly avoided topic.

.

.

.

And Cana Alberona, his manager, simply smirked.

"Looks like we're even then."

* * *

**:::: **

* * *

** [DAILY BULLETIN]**

**THE DEMON DIRECTOR TO SIGN A CONTRACT WITH SABER STUDIOS?**

_Erza Scarlet denies the issue. But with Saber Studious leading the ranks, she…_

* * *

_Flip._

* * *

**[STELLAR SCROLLS]**

**Scarlet: "It's only a title."**

_She remains humble despite…_

* * *

_Flip._

* * *

A pause.

**[THE SORCERER]**

**ERZA SCARLET'S LOVER MAN: WHO WILL IT BE?**

_By: Jason Philips_

_Just who will the lucky man be? Scarlet presses that she's got no time for 'foolish romances' and instead wishes to focus solely on work—but aren't we all just curious on what type of man sends the demon director all wobbly on the knees? And it's no exaggeration when I say there are thousands more than willing to court the sophisticated beauty. _

_And Ichiya Kotobuki of Pegesus Pictures is no exception. Apparently, the leading man has also been drawn by the allure of the redhead beauty, and has been pursuing her ever since. And when asked about their relationship status, he answers— "More than friends, but less than lovers. Our relationship is far too complicated to describe in words, but—"_

_Flip._

* * *

A grunt.

"Tch. Rubbish." she muttered darkly from the director's chair as she nonchalantly held the newspaper up to a scriptwriter. "Throw it. Burn it. I don't care what you do with it. Get this out of my sight." she then eyed the trembling, clearly inexperienced young man standing right in the middle of the production set. He's been stumbling over his lines too many times for the _more than less than pleased _director. "And him too."

"B-but um, Miss Scarlet, he's—"

"Utterly useless. He won't do."

The scriptwriter could do nothing but nod, then hurriedly ushering the man out the demon director's sight. And oh—was she pissed. _Very much, pissed._ She was made to hold this very early—and her efforts to do so had practically been wasted on these talentless extras the management had scouted. Talentless! The whole lot of them! She could barely watch them faltering and wobbling under the spotlight, tripping upon props in all their clumsiness and rather uncertain demeanors—that annoying article of Sorcerer did no help either.

And it was only eight in the morning.

She figured she no longer wanted the day to turn out any worse that it already was.

She snapped thrice to call their attention. "Alright! That's a wrap. I've had enough—you are _all _giving me a headache. We'll retake tomorrow—and I am _hoping—" _she sent them all frighteningly sharp glares, "—for a better run then. Everyone be here on time. _Five o' clock morning, sharp._" she swiftly slung her bag over her shoulder and stood—with ever the authoritative demeanor which could make everyone comply to her command, either by admiration, or simply by fear; and it had always been the foundation for her well-respected reputation throughout Fiore.

She wasn't called the D_emon Director _for nothing.

"I need to speak with the management." she said to a staff. She was not happy at all—and figured she and the management could use a little talk on casting appropriately for the AVP. "Tell your boss he's got five minutes to get down here. _Or else._"

"Y-yes! R-right away!"

Erza heaved a sigh as she leaned against a wall, eyes unfocused and hazed—tired, most of all, a little bit sleepy (she woke up four in the morning)—and hungry, as well. She regretted not having bought take-out for breakfast, or any snack for that matter. Perhaps she'd just buy on the way, and—

A pink box was held right in front of her.

"Wha—"

"Strawberry cake."

It took her a few moments before finally recovering, and then subtly smiled up at the man as she took the box. "I thought you weren't going to make it today, assistant director?"

.

.

.

Jellal Fernandes shrugged. "I figured I can't, not make it," he returned her smile. "You're welcome, by the way."

* * *

** ::::**

* * *

Back to F.T. Films HQ, Laki sat by her office desk in deep thoughts.

She knew something needed to be done. They can't run from the press forever. They can't run from their problems forever. Simply speaking_—_

_This can't go on forever. _

She thought.

Her hands grabbed the latest issue of Fiore Files and opened it.

* * *

**[THE FIORE FILES]**

**COUNTDOWN BEGINS FOR THE GRAND FIORE FILM FEST X791!**

_Calling all the movie production companies in Fiore—it's a new year ahead—and ultimately another round for the annual film festival! _

_Who will win this time? _

_Who will shine? _

_Who will—_

* * *

_Flip._

* * *

"Hmm..."

She turned to the next page.

* * *

**FIORE'S CHOICE AWARDS: THE CONTINENT'S MOST INFLUENTIAL PERSONALITIES **

_The masses have spoken! According to a poll held last week, the top four of Fiore's celebs are:_

_4th – L. Ashley_

_3rd – Gray Fullbuster_

_2nd – Erza Scarlet_

_1st – Natsu Dragneel_

_Let's give them a round of applause! These spots surely are, well-deserved, don't you think? _

_After all, they definitely are the industry's living legends!_

* * *

She stared at the names.

She flipped back to the previous page; she flipped back to the poll.

She stared at the names again.

And then it hit her.

.

.

.

_What if—_

* * *

**Chapter One End.**

* * *

**::::**

**Author's Note:** So, did you like chapter one? I hope so. Next chapters will be a deeper look into the lives of the four controversial personas, and about their unresolved issues—to be resolved. Most probably, the rock icon and the novelist first. So please watch out for my next update.

I have to warn beforehand though, I may not be able to update that frequently from this point on. But I hope you still read this story until the very end.

**THANK YOU** AvidOtakuReader, LordBlankBlank, Purple Antidote, Ryleeunicorn, and Xtsubasa-chanX for the Favorite and Alert! And to IdentityCrisis.03, Shiranai Atsune, and xX916-chanXx for the Alert!

**Response to Reviews**

dawnpia11416: Thank you!

Purple Antidote: Thank you! I don't mind, but I really don't want to spill the beans about the pairings this early on all the same. Although I mostly support the common ones. Like NaLu, etc… I'll just leave the guessing to you guys.

Guest: Yep, it is NaLu.

P. Prodigy: Hope you like the chapter! And I vote for NaLu too.

xX916-chanXx: Yes, I'm back! Although only for this story, sadly. College has been too time-pressuring recently. But I'll try to update the most often that I can!

Xtsubasa-chanX: Thank you!

Guest: Thank you! And yes, you nailed the NaLu pairing.

Fred and George Weasely Twins: Will do! Or at least, I'll try.

MWEH: Thank you! I already gave out one of the ships away, which is NaLu. (I do hope you support it?) The rest, well…read on. Kidding. I don't plan on being too mean. If you really can't stand the suspense (I actually know how that feels), you can simply PM me about the pairings and I'll give it straight out. Those are good guesses for the roles, by the way.

Person: Thank you! I'd also love to hear more from you.

AvidOtakuReader: Yes, I will! Hopefully.

Guest: NaLu is set. The rest… find out. Good guesses on the roles.


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